Waukon City Council addresses full agenda at regular Monday meeting

by Dwight Jones

The Waukon City Council met in regular session the evening of Monday, March 1 with a full council in attendance.
Following a short discussion regarding summer help under Departmental Reports, the Council quickly moved to address the 15-item Regular Business portion of the agenda. To start things off, the annual budgets for the upcoming year for both the City and the hospital were approved.
Next, discussion turned to insurance for Dram Shop coverage for beer sales through the Park and Recreation Department, and airport liability. Mayor Loren Beneke stated that he had noticed that it appeared that those policies were broken out separate from the main policy the Council had recently voted to move from Leschensky Insurance to Bieber Insurance. The status of those policies will be reviewed and addressed at an upcoming meeting.
Next, the Council moved to further discussion regarding the airport. Beneke addressed what he deemed were some items still unfinished, including determination on insurance requirements for those leasing hangar space, fuel issues, etc. Larry Gelo, a member of the Allamakee Flying Club and airport boards was in attendance and suggested a work session between his groups and the Council to work through some of these issues. Both parties agreed to meet prior to the next regularly scheduled council meeting.
The Council then moved on to discuss the former C-Mart property. Former mayor Keith Schroeder had been working almost exclusively with this project, and neither City Attorney Jim Garrett nor City Clerk Diane Sweeney were overly confident that they were fully aware of where the ground contamination clean-up process currently stands. The Council voted to appoint Water and Sewer Superintendent Bob Campbell to take over the project, and Sweeney will get him all of the information she has to smooth the transition.
Lyle TeKippe with TeKippe Engineering spoke next, addressing a trickling filter that needs repair at the waste water treatment plant. The repairs, which have been long discussed, are unique, time consuming and “not something that are done every day”, according to TeKippe. However, TeKippe’s firm has designed a game plan on how to make the repairs, and had prepared the plans and specifications to have it bid out. The Council approved the plans, and TeKippe will move forward with securing bids, though it is uncertain as to when exactly the work will be done.
The Council then revisited the ongoing issue of downtown snow removal. Following a work session regarding the matter, the Council had determined to develop an ordinance that addressed the issue for B-1 businesses only, with an undetermined amount to be billed annually for the City to remove the snow from such areas where there is no room to pile snow. Much discussion then took place regarding the issue, and whether if it was truly being done in the name of safety if there should be a bill attached to this service or not. Following a lengthy discussion, it was determined that the Council would move forward with the annual fee concept, though they still need to decide if it is going to be a flat fee or a per square foot fee, which is what some other cities have adopted.
TeKippe and the Council then moved to discussing the proposed GIS agreement between the two parties. TeKippe explained that his firm would like to get started on the project this spring, but that weather and snow thaw will have a lot to do with their success. He had provided an agreement for the Council, which was approved.
TeKippe and the Council continued discussions moving into the next agenda item, which involved the 2010/2011 Street Improvement Project.  Discussions mainly involved a project near the hospital, which is expected to be around $200,000. The Council had also discussed extending the project past Subway to Rossville Road, but determined that tackling both was likely not a good idea due to costs, parking issues, etc.
The Council then appointed TeKippe to oversee the Iowa Department of Transportation Maintenance Garage Project on behalf of the City.
The Council next moved on to again discuss the proposed purchase of property for sports fields near the Waukon Wellness Center. Garrett explained that the Council should set a date for a public hearing to expand the TIF district to include the property in order to pay for the project with TIF dollars. Garrett explained that though he had not received all of the paperwork, it appeared that the annexation of the property is completed and it “appears we have a done deal”. The public hearing will be held during the April 5 council meeting.
The Council then approved the second reading of the ordinances proposing increases to water and sewer rates.
Following discussions regarding issues/projects the Council wanted to see on upcoming agendas, the final item of the night was then addressed, that being the position of Development/Zoning Officer. Three individuals had been interviewed, and the Council agreed to offer the position to former councilman Al Lyon, though a compensation package still needed to be worked out. If both parties can agree, the position will be filled.